Health & Welfare If you are working under either the Inside or Residential Agreement and currently are covered by Health Net, you will lose coverage as of January 1, 2003. To be covered by Kaiser you must fill out the application sent to you by the Trust Office. If you have not received one, contact the Local and we will make sure you do. If you do not apply to Kaiser it may only be possible to sign up during the annual open enrolment period. Once the applications are received by the Trust Office, Kaiser is notified and a Medical Record Number will be assigned to you and your family members. When you have this number, you can call Kaiser outreach line toll free at 1-877-988-7868. They should be able to assist you. If you have special needs, call the Local Office and we should be able to help you. In the surrounding locals every one has had to reduce their wage settlement from $.65 to $1.50 per hour in order to maintain their Health and Welfare. In most cases they have had to reduce benefits as well. Health care costs continue to rise. My thanks to all who have worked with the Trustees to make this transition as smooth as possible. Pension With an economy that is not that strong and the Stock Market in a down turn, our pension investments have done quite well considering what has been reported from other similar Local Unions. We are one of the few in the Bay Area who actually had positive numbers for the last year. With that said we may have enough for some small improvements.

State Certification Certification of Electricians is starting it’s next phase. Application blanks are available on line at the DIR’S website. Go to www.dir.ca.gov/das and click on “Electrical Certification Program”. Applications are now being accepted, with two pilot tests being given in December. One in Northern and one in Southern California. There will be only 32 tested at each site for this start-up program. Applications are available at the office. In addition, all members will be mailed the application next week along with the 2003 Holiday Calendar.

Service Awards At our Regular Meeting in December (Christmas Party) we will try to take care of the regular business quickly and then honor our “OLD TIMERS”. Service pins will be given out to those members who have 50 years or more. We will have a regular “Old Timers Awards Dinner” in the spring and recognize these individuals once again.

Good News/Bad News As the year draws to a close we have much to reflect on, some of it good, some of it not so good. We were able to negotiate a fair wage package. Our Man Hours are on pace with last years and will increase our 10 year average from 457,000 to 480,000. Our 5 year average is 550,000. The last two years are over 600,000.

Work in our area has been such that we have been able to put some of our traveling brothers to work and still organize new members. The normal cycle of construction will slow this down for the December/January months but things look bright for the spring.

Politically the last election brought with it some good and some bad. Organized labor and working people did not fair well nationally. California and our local area however did quite well. Of the candidates that were supported by the Napa/Solano Building trades our success rate was phenomenal. Of the candidates that we endorsed all but one was elected. That one came in a close 4th in a race that had 10 candidates and 3 openings. All of the propositions and Measures that were supported by the Building Trades were adopted with the exception of Measure “E”. It required a two thirds majority and only receiving 60% of the vote. This shows that locally, organized labor has clout and that our votes count. The Proposition that provides for School Improvements (Prop 47) includes some provisions that are very beneficial to organized labor.

The Future for 180 looks strong. From the Officers and Staff we send to you and your family our best wishes for a fine Holiday Season.

Please try to join with us on December 12, 2002 for a short Regular Union Meeting Followed by our annual Christmas Party. Refreshments will be served.
 

Upcoming Events Holidays REGULAR MEETING  December 12, 2002@ 7:00 P.M. SERVICE PINS AWARDED NO BAR-B-QUE at the December Meeting Christmas Party Following Meeting   CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS DECEMBER 24, (INSIDE AGREEMENT) DECEMBER 25, (ALL AGREEMENTS) DECEMBER 26, (RESIDENTIAL) JANUARY 1, 2003 NEW YEARS DAY JANUARY 20, 2003 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY  All meetings will be held at:  720 Technology Way Napa CA, 94558

Inside this issue. Business Manager's Report Kids Christmas Party Congratulations Condolences Retiree's Corner From the President Organizing JATC

Our Annual Kids Christmas Party will be held at the Training Center on December 14, 2002.  The party will start at 12:00 with  Santa arriving around 1:00 P. M.
Refreshments, prizes, gifts and fun for all.

Congratulations
To Mel Marshall on his marriage to Deborah September 28, 2002.
Condolences
Lonnie Nalley
It is with deep sorrow that we report on the death of Brother Lonnie Nalley. Lonnie was a long time member having been initiated in 1966. He will be missed by his many friends and the Brothers & Sisters of the IBEW.

Our sympathy is extended to his family including Shannon, one of our members.

The Family has asked that we announce a “Celebration of Life” for Lonnie. It will be held on December 14, 2002 at the Skyline Park in Napa. The address is 2201 Imola Avenue. It will begin at 1:00 P. M.

Retiree's Corner
The monthly meetings for the Retirees Club are held the first Wednesday of each month, at 12:30 pm, at the  Training Center.  All retirees and spouses are welcome. Widows of retired members are encouraged to be involved.  At the October 2, 2002 meeting lunch will be served. Please RSVP to Ken so that enough food will be available.

The Annual Christmas luncheon was held December 4, 2002 at Jonesy’s Steakhouse. It was well attended and a good time was had by all. There were 38 in attendance.

Ken has scheduled a trip in July of 2003. It will be called the "Lake Michigan Getaway". More information will be presented in future newsletters.

Ken Breckenridge has scheduled a six day trip from March 17, to March 22, 2003.  The trip will depart Vallejo and stop in Sparks,  Nevada, for a two hour Casino stop and then to Hawthorne, Nevada, for the night at the El Capitan Lodge. Day two, on to Tonopah and Mesquite for dinner and overnight at the Oasis Casino. Day three will include a tour of Zion National Park with a Tram ride and then on to Las Vegas for a two day stay at Hotel San Remo.  Day four will offer a trip to Pahrump Winery for tour and a hosted lunch. The fifth day will find you on your way to Bakersfield with accommodations at the Clarion Inn and  Basque Dinner. Day six is a return to home. Most meals are included as is baggage handling and bonus tickets at most Casinos.

This unique trip will feature “flightless” travel. That is; all transportation will be by land or lake. Mode of transportation will include bus, rail, and cruise ship. Departing from Vallejo on July 14 and returning on the 25th. Itinerary will be given in the January News Letter.

For additional information;
Ken can be reached at (707) 643-4139.

From the President
Although the Holiday Season is upon us, calls continue to trickle in. We currently have 30 on Book 1, 105 on Book 2 and 10 on Book 3.

We are in the process of setting up COMET-II Training. We need to be proactive with our “Salting” in the jurisdiction. When the weather and job completions start to fill up the books, we need to flood non-union targets with mass applications. We have targeted several contractors and need the members help to make this work.

We will have the Blood Mobile set up at the January regular meeting between 4-7 P. M. This is an excellent way to support our community. Donations are historically low during the holidays, yet the need for blood remains the same. If you donate blood, you will be compensated with a free pre-meeting BBQ dinner. Please help out with this important cause.

Sasco Electric was awarded the Solano County Downtown Project. Pre-job meetings are to happen the first week of December. Underground work continues on the Vallejo Kaiser parking structure with rain slowing it up a bit. Thirteen of the twenty-six miles of road are complete on the Wind Farm in Collinsville. Weather will hinder this project, as they are to plow in miles of cable.

Now that the Holiday season is here, local law enforcement groups will be out in numbers. Drive responsibly, or park it and catch a cab. It is a cheap investment.

Dan Broadwater
President Local 180

From the Organizer:
Last month a letter of introduction was mailed to 108 non signatory contractors in Napa County and 154 in Solano County. We have received a great response. The President and myself have met with several small contractors as a result of these letters We are hopeful that more will follow. We will continue this effort each month with another letter.

I would like to thank those members who have referred Electricians to the local for applications for membership. Your commitment to Organizing is what makes it work.

Rich Mattson, Organizer

JATC
The JATC is still accepting sign-ups for Journeyman Classes. Code and Conduit Bending classes will be offered in January. If you have not signed up yet contact Larry Poyser at the JATC office. (251-0315).

JOURNEYMAN CLASSES

The following Journeyman level classes will be offered in the near future. Class sizes and times will depend on interest.
CODE THEORY
TRANSFORMERS             CONDUIT BENDING
MOTOR CONTROLS         VOICE-DATA-VIDEO
SUPERVISION & PRODUCTIVITY

UNION BUILT MEANS BETTER BUILT
You want a “ no-worry” electrical system installed in your home Safe, reliable and guaranteed.  Then you need an electrical system installed by a union electrical contractor.  That’s right– UNION!  A competent union electrical contractor who employs qualified IBEW union electricians.

Each IBEW journeyman learns the trade through a 3 to 5 year Apprenticeship program.  This extensive training combines on–the-job practical experience with classroom theory and testing.  And the training doesn’t stop there.  Continuing education constantly up-dates the union electrician’s skills through programs sponsored by the IBEW and NECA the IBEW & NECA were instrument in establishing mandatory state Licensing in California.  Why? Because we believe that our work is superior & we stand behind it! PROTECT YOURSELVES

 Bruce Gourley, Business Manager
 
 

Updated 12/07/02 Copyright© 2002 IBEW L.U. 180 Information on this site has been approved by the Business Manager and L.U. President